


kings & queens

by grimnoir_cupid



Category: Infinity Train (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Canon Rewrite, Canonical Character Death, Character Death, Character Study, Crushes, Dorks in Love, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Falling In Love, Fix-It, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Enemies, Idiots in Love, Love Confessions, Love/Hate, Manipulation, Mind Games, Mind Manipulation, Redemption, Unrequited Crush
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:14:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27806659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grimnoir_cupid/pseuds/grimnoir_cupid
Summary: The Infinity Train was made to improve you- or very well kill you. This is a story in which Grace Monroe learns to grow from the things she taught herself, and Simon Laurent lets the world slip from his fingers. Soon, the two go tumbling down, and are forced to end their accidental game of Kings and Queens.(Ongoing)
Relationships: Hazel & Grace Monroe (Infinity Train), Hazel & Tuba (Infinity Train), Simon Laurent & Grace Monroe, Simon Laurent/Grace Monroe, The Cat & Simon Laurent
Kudos: 6





	1. better now than never

**Author's Note:**

> I cannot accept how the creators wrote the ending episodes of Book Three soooo... This is what you get. A Simon with much more nuance (and who is improving for both the best and the worst) and a Grace that wants to make things right what she (and the the STUPID train) had made wrong.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Simon kills Tuba.

Simon knew who he was, who he had to be, ever since he met Grace, ever since he helped her form the Apexs... ever since Samantha.

"Don't worry. I'll get Tuba. You go on ahead."

This was going to prove who he was, once and for all. Simon latched onto the wall of the train car with his pack and shot forward. The dry air enveloped him as he flew. A part of him didn't know what he'd actually do once he got to that ledge, but he was certain he'd know once he got there.

And then he did. The red desert laid on both sides of them, and the wheel ran and ran underneath them, waiting for something to claim.

He could give that something. It wouldn't be bad. Everything would be... normal again. 

Simon's feet hit the ground. He turned around and peered down at the great blue ape and smiled. Something wicked nagged at him, but Grace and Hazel quickly flashed through his mind.

"Teamwork begins with two people trusting each other," Simon mumbled to himself. "Damn it-"

Before he could decide against it, he reached down to Tuba and grabbed onto her arm. Why was she heavier this time around? Maybe he didn't actually want to do this. Maybe she-

I was... really glad when Hazel came into my life. Tuba's voice forced its way into his mind. She had almost sounded a little-

"God damn it." His frustration crawled over his skin as he tried to haul her up.

Wasn't he supposed to be stronger than this? He'd climbed walls, lifted weights, even pulled up Tuba herself- but right now, somehow, he was failing. This was where he was betraying everything he believed in, everything he knew. If he was going to do that, shouldn't he have been stronger-?

But he wasn't strong.

So Tuba slipped, and she was falling, and she would die-

"No!"

He made a split-second decision, and soon, his pack had latched onto the the null. She was hanging, and he was trying to pull her up but-

Help.

He looked forward to to the other train car, where Grace and Hazel waited. He needed them, but... there was no way. What could they do? Grace was packless and Hazel-

The cord of his pack let go, and Tuba fell in slow motion.

He didn't feel much when he watched her get wheeled. He was just empty. 

He dropped to the ground, and he felt the sands of the desert whip his face. He brushed off his shaggy blond hair.

He would have killed her anyway. Better now than never, right?

Right. Right. He pulled his knees to his chest for a second, looking right down at the murder. A good murder. A it-was-supposed-to-happen murder.

It wasn't like he hadn't busted up denizens before. This kill wasn't going to be the last.

So. So, yeah. Better now than never.


	2. princes and dragons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Simon and his mother play a game that he loves.

When Simon was younger, he and his mother used to play a game: Princes and Dragons. It was always fun, and Mrs. Laurent was always so good at pretending. For her son, she knew how to lie the best.

"You can be the handsome prince, hm? Wouldn't that be fun?" she would say, shelving one of of her latest artifact.

"And you'll be the scary dragon?" he'd ask standing on his tip-toes.

She would polish it and then put it away very neatly (and she said one day he could help her with it). She'd reply, "Of course I'll be the dragon- but i won't be too scary! I was a princess in another life, after all."

A princess in another life...


	3. messed-up kids

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Simon tells Grace about a new game they can play.

It was quiet today. They were twelve. It was drizzling in this car, and it looked like that was the car always was. Drizzling... with giant butterflies.

They sat in the Butterfly Car. Under a tree, away from the towering Monarch that loomed just a little ways away from them. It flapped it's thundering orange wings and took off into the sky, leaving them room for relief.

So Simon made his move: 

"You want to play Kings and Queens?"

Grace laughed. She twirled her finger around her golden earring, her glowing green number just a little higher than before. "We're a little old to 'play' stuff."

"Who's going to stop us? Him?" He pointed at a random blue butterfly that was a bit smaller than the usual giganto-bug. It fluttered here and there, and then flew away, too. "He doesn't care."

She laughed again, and... Wow.

"Alright, Tail, you have a point. What's the game about?"

He tugged at his newest hairstyle. He kind of liked it. 

"Okay, um..." Simon tried to make up new rules, one that didn't have a dragon to hurt them. It'd just be... them. 

"Okay, so: One is the King- me, I guess- and one is the Queen- you!"

She shook her head. "You'd be the court jester!"

"As if," he said. "I could be the King! I'd be a great King!"

"Can we be prince and princess instead? We're a little young for that business." 

"Oh, now we're to young for this?"

Grace stood up and twirled around. In that moment, she kind of did look.. royal. "Yeah, but if you're a prince, you can protect me from all the scary things out there!"

She kept twirling, and Simon looked down into his lap. "I thought maybe, since we're the ruler-rulers of the kingdom, we could have other people protect us and... we'd just be safe and sound... I thought that would be nice."

She sat back down next to him. "Yeah. I guess that would be nice."

The next thing he knew, and arm slung itself around his shoulders.

"Fine, then, you Majesty. But we should go find some subjects. We can't boss ourselves around, can we?"

No, they couldn't.


End file.
